Editor’s Note: Welcome to Monthly Ticket, a series by CNN Travel that delves into fascinating topics within the travel world. This month, we turn our attention to the offbeat, exploring haunted spaces and abandoned places. Excitement rippled through the travel community in March 2022 when the remarkably preserved shipwreck of Ernest Shackleton’s HMS Endurance was discovered nearly two miles beneath the icy Antarctic seas. However, there are many more sunken vessels waiting to be rediscovered. In this article, we will explore some of the world’s most elusive shipwrecks, and even a few that you can see for yourself without getting wet.
The sinking of Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria flagship off the coast of Haiti on Christmas Eve 1492 is still shrouded in mystery. One theory suggests that an inexperienced cabin boy took the wheel while Columbus was napping and crashed the ship into a coral reef. Nonetheless, excitement peaked in May 2014 when archaeologist Barry Clifford claimed to have found the ship’s long-lost wreck. However, the claim was debunked by UNESCO, stating that the discovered ship was from a later period. The Santa Maria’s whereabouts remain unknown.
The Flor de la Mar, a 16th-century merchant ship, journeyed between India and Portugal. Its massive size, 118 feet in length and 111 feet in height, made it challenging to navigate. As expected, the Flor de la Mar met its demise in a heavy storm off Sumatra, Indonesia in 1511. Most of the crew perished, and the ship’s valuable cargo, including the personal fortune of a Portuguese governor worth $2.6 billion today, was lost. The pirate Zheng Yi Sao’s search for this treasure was recently fictionalized in an episode of the British sci-fi series “Doctor Who,” which introduced the dreaded Sea Devils. Despite numerous attempts, the Flor de la Mar remains a mystery.
Known as “Australia’s Titanic,” the SS Waratah was a passenger cargo ship that sailed between Europe and Australia with a stopover in Africa. In 1909, the Waratah disappeared after leaving Durban, South Africa—just three years before the Titanic tragedy. The fate of the ship and its 211 passengers and crew, along with eight staterooms and a music lounge, remains unknown. The National Underwater and Marine Agency believed they had found the Waratah 90 years later, but it turned out to be a false alarm. As the late Clive Cussler, a renowned thriller writer who dedicated his life to searching for shipwrecks, said, “I guess she is going to continue to be elusive a while longer.”
While the USS Indianapolis movie received a disappointing 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the ship played a crucial role in World War II. The Indianapolis was chosen to transport the uranium core of the “Little Boy” bomb to Tinian Island. After the successful drop-off, the ship was hit by a Japanese submarine on its return journey, leading to the deaths of many crew members due to shark attacks and salt poisoning. The exact location of the warship remained a mystery for decades until Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s team discovered it 18,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific in 2017.
The Atlantic Ocean is now home to approximately 1,000 shipwrecks connected to the horrific transatlantic slave trade, which enslaved 12-13 million Africans. Many of these ships sank during turbulent weather conditions. The São José, sunk off the coast of South Africa in 1794, is one such vessel. Other ships, like the Clotilda, were deliberately scuttled by their owners to hide evidence of illegal slave trading. The wrecks of both the São José and Clotilda have been found, thanks to the efforts of Diving With a Purpose, a group of predominantly Black scuba divers dedicated to exploring sunken slave ships and bringing artifacts to the surface. While retrieving these objects also brings up stories of immense suffering, Diving With a Purpose aims to use them for educational purposes, highlighting the legacy of slavery.
In 1982, Mehmed Çakir stumbled upon the remains of a trading ship that had sunk off the coast of Yalıkavak, Turkey 3,000 years ago while diving for sponges. His discovery marked the beginning of over 22,400 dives to retrieve the lost treasures of the Uluburun. The haul included 10 tons of copper ingots, 70,000 glass and faience beads, and Cypriot pottery jars filled with olive oil and pomegranates. Some of these treasures can now be viewed at the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, offering a glimpse into the trade of the Bronze Age.
The eerily intact Vasa warship from the 17th century appears more like a prop from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise than a real vessel. The Swedish giant sank just 1,300 meters after setting sail in 1628 and remained sunken for 333 years. When archaeologists finally discovered the hull, it was adorned with 700 sculptures and decorations depicting mermaids, lions, and biblical figures—a testament to the greatness of Sweden and its king, Gustav II Adolf. Since the opening of a dedicated museum in Stockholm in 1990, the Vasa has become one of the world’s most accessible shipwrecks, attracting over 25 million visitors.
On the banks of Scotland’s River Clyde at Greenock, the wreck of the MV Captayannis may resemble a deceased whale to the untrained eye. This Greek sugar-carrying boat capsized during a squall in January 1974. Since no one claimed responsibility for the “sugar boat,” it remains stuck in a sandbank—a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of the sea. However, the wreck has become a blessing for local boat charters like Wreckspeditions, who offer close-up views of the ship while serving hot chocolate.
For avid scuba divers, Chuuk Lagoon in the Pacific Ocean, located 1,000 miles northeast of Papua New Guinea, is a dream destination. During World War II, the Japanese established a formidable naval base in Chuuk Lagoon, which was targeted in Operation Hailstone in 1944. As a result, approximately 60 Japanese ships and aircraft now rest at the bottom of the lagoon. These sunken vessels, such as the San Francisco Maru and the Nippo Maru, have transformed Chuuk Lagoon into a melancholic underwater museum for divers to explore, where barnacled tanks and abandoned compasses tell the stories of the past.
The shipwreck of the MS World Discoverer, a cruise ship that struck an obstacle and partially sank off Roderick Bay in the Solomon Islands in 2000, has become an unexpected tourist attraction. Although the ship remains at a 46-degree list and is slowly rusting away, passing ships often visit the site. It’s worth noting that all passengers were safely rescued. Google Maps amusingly declares the shipwreck as open 24 hours. For adventurous travelers, a visit to the MS World Discoverer shipwreck offers an intriguing glimpse into maritime history alongside a cup of hot chocolate.
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